Otters at Weymouth SEA LIFE centre have had a ‘fang-tastic’ time snacking on treats in the lead up to Halloween.
Two Asian short-clawed otters named Badger and Isa have been pictured enjoying their pumpkin treats as part of their enrichment program.
Jemma McGuinness, aquarist from SEA LIFE Weymouth, said: "Otters are very intelligent creatures so it's always important for us to vary their daily enrichment.
“Using a pumpkin not only sparks their natural curiosity with a new smell for them to explore but helps get us all into the Halloween spirit."
Jemma goes on to explain that the enrichment programme encourages the two otters to develop ‘natural foraging behaviours and exploration’, this in turn helps to stimulate them as they use their whiskers and paws to search for food.
Their primary source of food is crustaceans and molluscs, but they aren’t afraid to eat fish, insects and even small amphibians and reptiles.
The otters choose to reside in burrows dug into muddy banks and are found in the wild in the mangroves and wetlands of southeast Asia, from India to the Philippines.
They are playful creatures that spend most of their days on land playing, grooming, resting and sleeping.
Asian short-clawed otters are also known to be very vocal animals and can make at least 12 different sounds to communicate, including to sound the alarm when danger is near, or when greeting other otters.
To learn more about Badger and Isa you can visit the centre’s website at www.visitsealife.com/weymouth/explore/creatures/otters/
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